The present invention relates to a hub to be used in an at least partially muscle-powered two-wheeled vehicle and in particular a bicycle.
In the professional field of bicycle sportsmen and in the field of sports, an increasingly considerable weight is placed on lightweight though strong components. The lighter the components, the better the feasible acceleration, and higher maximum and average speeds can be achieved.
A significant component in weight reduction is the hubs employed which, on the one hand must withstand high and highest loads, while on the other hand they considerably contribute to the total weight.
Therefore, for reducing the total weight of a hub, hubs have become known in the prior art whose housings consist partially or entirely of a fibrous composite material. Since the hub sleeve connecting the two hub flanges considerably contributes to the weight of the hub, hubs have become known in which the hub sleeve between the spoke flanges consists of a fibrous composite material or another lightweight material. In the known hubs, the carbon sleeve is pushed into a receiving bore of the hub end pieces and glued in. To ensure reasonable gluing, a considerable gap is provided in the radial direction between the outer diameter of the carbon sleeve and the inner diameter of the receiving hole. This facilitates reasonable gluing.
There is the drawback, however, that the hub or spoke flanges are held at the hub sleeve by means of a considerable quantity of adhesive and that a considerable difference in diameters between the hub sleeve and the receiving opening in the hub end piece is required. This is why involved alignment of the individual parts is required in gluing to ensure the necessary concentricity. This results in an optically attractive and functional, composite hub.
The drawback of this is that considerable manual adjustments are required in manufacturing the hub, which further increases the manufacturing steps.